The Publishing Process
As an academic series, the Texas Woman’s University (TWU) book series follows the conventional peer-review process. TWU’s book series publishes its books through the Texas A&M University Press (TAMUP). Here is a summary of the general steps involved in moving from book proposal to published book:
Submission: Via email, the book proposal is submitted by the book’s author to the book series managing editor (Dr. Kimberly C. Merenda at kmerenda@twu.edu). Please see the book proposal guidelines for information regarding the proposal format.
Editorial Committee Review: Proposals are shared with the TWU book series editorial committee for their peer review and evaluation. This typically results in one of the following: accept, decline, or revise and resubmit.
Author Response: Should the proposal receive either an “accept” or a “revise and resubmit,” the proposer is invited to provide a formal response.
Institutional Approval: After the TWU book series editorial committee accepts a proposal, the proposal is shared with TWU’s chancellor and the director of TWU’s Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership for their evaluation and decision to accept or decline.
Manuscript Completion: The author completes the manuscript and it and the proposal are forwarded to the TAMUP director and editor.
TAMUP Review: TAMUP’s editor sends the manuscript to peer reviewers who review the book and typically offer one of the following evaluations: accept, accept with revisions, revise and resubmit, or reject. The TAMUP editor shares the peer report with the book author who reads through the peer reports and composes a letter responding to the feedback.
Author Revision: If revisions are requested, the author revises the manuscript, responding to peer review concerns. This revised version is then resubmitted to the editor. With approval from the TAMUP editor, the revised proposal and sample chapters are sent to the TAMUP Faculty Advisory Committee for approval.
Contract: TAMUP and the book author negotiate a contract.
Copyediting: TAMUP assigns the book to a freelance copyeditor. The copyeditor edits the entire manuscript according to industry standards. The book’s author carefully reviews the copyedited manuscript, responding to all edits and queries.
Production: The manuscript then goes into production (which includes design, pagination, typesetting, and cover design).
Pageproofs and Indexing: Pageproofs are sent to the author, who has approximately two weeks to check the manuscript for typos and prepare an index.
Printing: The book goes to the printer.
Catalog Copy: TAMUP’s marketing department composes a listing of the upcoming publication in TAMUP’s book catalog.
Publication: The manuscript is published by TAMUP.
Marketing and Promotion: In addition to marketing books through its website, TAMUP’s publicity and advertising manager will work with the media to secure reviews and garner additional coverage. In conjunction, TWU, the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership, and the TWU book series promote the manuscript.
The TWU book series general and managing editors are available to offer assistance at every stage of the publication process.
Page last updated 4:16 PM, April 25, 2024